As far as exhibitions go, this one is different. Thirty-three differently-abled artists are now exhibiting their works at a ten-day exhibition at Arpana Art Gallery in the Siri Fort Institutional Area here.
Organised by “Family of Disabled”, the 6th national exhibition titled “Beyond Limits” provides a platform to trained as well as self-taught artists who despite their drawbacks have not lost hope in life. For them art is a medium to give creative expression to their inner feelings and the world they see around them.
Preeti Johar of Family of Disabled says she owes a lot to internationally-acclaimed artist Arpana Caur as she has been mounting exhibitions of physically challenged artists at her gallery since 2001.
“She has been hosting our exhibitions every alternate year. Last year Arpana in her generosity agreed to mount our show annually. She doesn’t charge a penny from us. Even our organisation doesn’t charge anything from the artists for exhibiting their works. However, if a work of art gets sold then 75 per cent of the proceeds go directly to the artist and the remaining amount goes to meet our promotion expenses. We believe that differently-abled artists have the ability to become economically independent.”
Mentally challenged Ajay Behra, who learnt painting at Air Force Golden Jubilee Institute in the Capital, has displayed a Madhubani painting for the show. Forty-year-old Sheela Sharma, whose hands have been amputated, paints by holding a brush between the fingers of her left toe.
Septuagenarian G. Prabhakar, who is hearing impaired, is the coordinator of Visual Arts of the Deaf, Chennai and has also worked as an illustrator. Shreekant Dubey says he triumphed over his handicap by training his left hand when his right hand had to amputated.
The exhibition showcases 117 works of 22 artists with speech and hearing impairment, ten with loco-motor disabilities along with a mental challenged painter. It is on till December 6.
